Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

homme et femme toutes mains

English translation:

Handyperson

Added to glossary by Jess Shepherd
Jul 9, 2023 04:26
10 mos ago
49 viewers *
French term

Homme et femme toutes mains

Not for points French to English Other Human Resources In an employment contract
Term present in an open-ended employment contract for employees of private individuals.

Listed as an option under 'nature of work'.

How would you translate this into English (Australia)?
Change log

Jul 9, 2023 16:57: writeaway changed "Field" from "Law/Patents" to "Other" , "Field (write-in)" from "Employment contract" to "In an employment contract"

Jul 20, 2023 12:18: Jess Shepherd Created KOG entry

Discussion

ormiston Jul 9, 2023:
Yes, 'male or female handyman' As posted below also
Tomasso Jul 9, 2023:
Congressman Helen Idaho's senator , Helen Chenoweth under Reagan, isnsited on being called CongressMAN, as an expression of her opinion on the wave of what some called PC. Gem X, people my age, so old they do not remember their own name.
AllegroTrans Jul 9, 2023:
It would help if you could post some of the surrounding text. What is the rate of pay offered?
Tomasso Jul 9, 2023:
handyman, no liscense or degree https://www.bizcover.com.au/become-handyman-australia/#:~:te... In Australia there is no formal handyman licence or handyman contractor licence required to operate your own handyman business, meaning there is no formal criteria that needs to be met in order to operate as a handyman

https://www.nicolasdaubanes.com/quest-ce-quun-homme-ou-une-f... Les hommes/ femmes toutes mains sont des hommes et des femmes qui effectuent des tâches nécessaires à la vie **quotidienne*** à domicile, par exemple des services de bricolage, qui entrent naturellement dans ce champ d’application. En d’autres termes, il s’agit d’un véritable multiservice qui se déroule à domicile. Machine translate... Handymen/women are men and women who carry out tasks necessary for daily life in the home, such as DIY services, which naturally fall within this scope. In other words, it's a genuine multiservice that takes place in the home.

Proposed translations

+4
8 hrs
Selected

Handyperson

HOMME / FEMME TOUTES MAINS
L’homme / femme toutes mains exerce son activité dans les locaux, bureaux de professionnels, des collectivités territoriales, des
associations… Cette profession exige de l’autonomie, de l’organisation et de la rigueur.
Présentation du métier
Ce professionnel réalise des petits travaux de bricolage à domicile consiste à effectuer des tâches occasionnelles
simples et de courte durée de manutention, de nettoyage, d’entretien, de réparation, de maintenance, de rénovation,
d’installation: travaux d’entretien courants d’intérieur comme la maintenance, la réparation, la rénovation simple…
Polyvalent, sérieux et discret, il effectue toutes ces activités en utilisant le matériel et les produits mis à disposition par le client.
L’homme / femme toutes mains possède souvent les clés de l’entreprise, commerce… du client qui lui fait entièrement
confiance.
Les activités principales
• Nettoyer, entretenir les espaces professionnels
• Réparer, rénover
• Maintenir des petits équipements
Le bon profil
Des compétences sont requises pour l’entretien des sols, des vitres et les règles d’hygiène sanitaire.
Le professionnel doit connaître les produits et les outils adaptés à leur entretien. Il respecte les consignes données par le client
et peut le conseiller sur des produits respectueux de l’environnement.
Une personne sérieuse, efficace, en qui l’on peut avoir une totale confiance.
Consciencieux, autonome et rapide, le poste demande d’être flexible dans les horaires (en dehors des horaires d’ouverture du
client).

A handyperson carries out minor repairs and small jobs in people's homes and businesses.

Handyperson | Explore careers - National Careers Service
Peer comment(s):

neutral ormiston : Neutral only because 'male/female handyman'https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjf... sounds better
2 hrs
"Handyperson" gets zillions of ghits and I regularly see job ads using this term
agree Tomasso : HandyPerson, used to be Post Man, now postal person? "A mail carrier, also referred to as a mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, Australia POSTIE, I like that.
3 hrs
Thanks but I don't think this is anything to do with post delivery
agree writeaway
4 hrs
Thanks
agree philgoddard : Male/female handyMAN? No way!
6 hrs
I totally agree
neutral Tony M : 'handy-anything' has a connotation of an odd-job person ('bricoleur') which again is a bit too narrow for the all-embracing context here. / Oh not at all: they might do any manner of other things as well!
10 hrs
But "bricolage" is precisely what this person does
agree SafeTex
17 hrs
Thanks
Something went wrong...
Comment: "Thank you - given the limited context, 'handyperson' appears to be the most suitable. It is a check mark option alongside other jobs (repasseuse familiale, femme de chambre, valet de chambre, lingère, repasseuse qualifiée, etc.)."
8 hrs

Jack of all Trades

...and " Master of none" could fit;
Peer comment(s):

neutral AllegroTrans : You really think " Master of none" would appear in an employment contract?
5 mins
No, but the first part might;
neutral writeaway : AT beat me to it. Jack of all Trades on an employment contract?
9 mins
Why not? or even a 'Jill of All Trades' in these politically correct times!
neutral Tony M : Really not applicable here!
4 hrs
Don't agree, but thanks anyway.
Something went wrong...
-2
11 hrs

Janitor

Not sure this works in Australia or for individual properties but it covers the repairs/caretaking aspect:

janitor
/ˈdʒanɪtə/
nounNORTH AMERICAN
a person employed to look after a building; a caretaker
Peer comment(s):

disagree Tony M : That's really too specific here, as it very specifically implies some kind of cleaning role, wheras here we have no idea what the context is, so it needs to be more general.
1 hr
disagree AllegroTrans : Agree with Tony
5 hrs
Something went wrong...
12 hrs

unskilled general worker

I think this would fit best in the context given, where it probably needs to be kept as general and non-committal as possible.
Peer comment(s):

neutral writeaway : unskilled sounds pejorative, basically insulting
5 hrs
In everyday language, yes; but this term is used in business to described jobs that don't require some special skills/training/qualification: unskilled labour etc.
neutral SafeTex : Hello Tony. I think this is like saying "cleaning technician" for a "home cleaner".
13 hrs
Hi S/T! It's not really "talking it up" in that way, but is a standard term used in referring to job statuses; a slightly more formal register appears to be suited here.
neutral Andrew Bramhall : Too generic and bland, for me;
1 day 16 hrs
But in the absence of more detailed context, it appears that a very general term is exactly what is needed here.
neutral Mpoma : Hmmm, check this out : https://www.business-direct.fr/que-savoir-dun-homme-ou-femme... ... of course there may be some lack of precise definition of the title...
2 days 2 hrs
An 'odd-job man' would be much better — but quite the wrong register here
Something went wrong...
13 hrs

handyman and handywoman

Translating the meaning, not the individual words.
Peer comment(s):

neutral AllegroTrans : I suppose it's possible that the job ad is for a husband and wife team of "handypeople" but we haven't sufficient context
2 hrs
neutral Tony M : 'handy-anything' has a connotation of a 'bricoleur' which again is a bit too narrow for the all-embracing context here.
5 hrs
Something went wrong...
2 days 15 hrs

multiskilled tradesperson

This is a French explanation of the *range* of things this can mean: https://www.legalplace.fr/guides/auto-entrepreneur-bricolage...

Then check this out:
https://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/multi-skilled-tradesman/50804205...

The main issue is that, as so often, the asker hasn't given us enough context. One thing which would be a good clue would be the rate of pay being offered. These "personnes toutes mains" usually seem to have level of skill in more than one "trade" which clearly distinguishes them from someone who just goes and decides to do "a bit of DIY".

At the lowest, it appears to be one step up from DIY, but involving multiple skills. At the highest, it appears to be not in any way a professional in a trade, but considerably above the DIY level.
Peer comment(s):

neutral Tony M : The trouble is, the term is specifically used to refer to people who don't have any one particular skill or 'trade' — so they are indeed 'jacks of all trades but masters of none'; whence my suggest of 'unskilled'.
14 mins
Yes, I read your answer. But "unskilled" really means precisely that! Plus, job advertisements in English or French can always be expected to be on the optimistic side...
Something went wrong...
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